From January to October of this year, fuel sales in the country totaled 924 million gallons, 5% less than the 974 million gallons reported in the first ten months of 2017.

The latest report published by the General Comptroller of the Republic of Panama details that during the first ten months of 2018 the fuel consumption in the country, which includes 91 and 95 octanes, totaled 274 million gallons, 0.7% more than in the same period last year.

During the last two months, the oil and its derivatives production has reached higher figures than expected, this is because the two largest producers, the United States and Saudi Arabia, have recorded figures never seen before.

In El Salvador, the Legislative Assembly approved a ban on the importation and commercialization of fuels with a high Sulphur content, mainly diesel for vehicular use.

From the Legislative Assembly statement:

According to the Legislative Assembly, the import and commercialization of fuels with a high sulfur content was banned, mainly diesel for vehicular use, which must be fully applied based on the resolution of the Consejo de Ministro de Integración Económica de Centroamérica (COMIECO), where a commitment to import and commercialize only fuels with a low sulfur content was signed.

The latest production and export reports from the United States and Saudi Arabia have provided international price relief for oil and its products. The North American country, through the International Energy Agency (IEA), reported that in the last week it reached a maximum production of 11.6 million barrels a day (100 thousand barrels more than two weeks ago) due to unconventional production (shale). While the Arab country, the largest producer of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), reported an increase of approximately 127 thousand barrels more to 10.8 million barrels per day, which has led to an excess in supply over current demand for fuels.

The production increase of the three major exporters of petroleum and its products at the end of October 2018 has contributed to the fall in international prices; the United States have produced approximately 11.5 million barrels per day, 500 thousand barrels more than its average production; Russia 11.3 million barrels per day, expecting to reach 11.4 million barrels per day in the next weeks; while Saudi Arabia produces an average of 10.7 million barrels per day, with expectations of increasing to 11 million barrels per day. With this increase in production, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has expressed that the oil markets seem " suitably supplied for now," and with a lower expectation in the demand for petroleum and products for 2019.

According to data from the IEA, the United States is in full season of hurricanes and the passing of Hurricane Michael through the Gulf of Mexico, on the production of crude oil and derivatives, generated losses in the two days of closure of the storm that represented about 9% of U.S. production of 11.1 million barrels per day. Making the reference prices for gasoline and distillates will present mixed fluctuations.

According to the latest report provided by the International Energy Agency (AIE) gasoline stocks went down by approximately 1.7 million barrels per week, but it was not so for distillates and diesel which had a slight increase in their reserves, of approximately 0.8 million barrels per week.

This week the company CLH Aviación started providing fuel supply services at Tocumen air terminal in Panama.

After having won the tender to supplyfuel and lubricants at Tocumen International Airport and regional terminals in 2017 for a period of 120 months, the company CLH Aviación stated that it has successfully started providing operations and maintenance servicesand supplying fuel at the air terminal.

The meteorological report for the Gulf of Mexico, offered at the beginning of the week of September 3, caused increases in the prices of petroleum products, including distillates such as diesel, due to the imminent passage of tropical storm "Gordon". This climatic event threatened to become a hurricane, which put on alert all oil rig areas, approximately 54 platforms (Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana) which were evacuated before the arrival of the storm, in addition floods of up to 1.5 meters were expected to occur due to the rising tide, in some refining areas.

According to the latest report from the Energy Information Administration Agency (EIA), gasoline stocks grew close to 1.2 million barrels at the end of the week, while distillates and diesel increased by approximately 1.8 million barrels, the increase recorded, confirms the favorable moment for refineries because the production rate has remained at 98.1%, providing sufficient supply to the market.

Businessmen in the industrial sector are warning that "expanding the reach of the RECOPE and authorizing it to charge fuel rates is like giving them a blank check on which to write the numbers they want to spend."

Industriales gave reasons for their opposition to the draft Fuels Law, that are related to the law, cost, technical reasons and the country's competitiveness, in a note sent to the Environment Commission of the Legislative Assembly.

August 13, 2018.The trends that have led to fuel prices experiencing highs and lows are due to fears about trade disputes between the United States and China, which has led to reduceddemand, since the Asian country is the world's largest importer of oil and its derivatives.